THE CROCODILE BY TOM BASDEN: VCE SUPPORT MATERIALS

You may download a slightly simplified version of this page in PDF form by clicking here.

This information was compiled by Jessica Stanley and James Cerché of Spinning Plates Co. Not only are Jess and James the Co-Artistic Directors of Spinning Plates, they are also the producers of this production and can be seen on-stage as Anya and Ivan. You may get in touch with Jess and James with any questions or additional support material requests at spinningplatesco@gmail.com.

The script used in our production and recommended by the publisher is available from Nick Hern Books.

CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright Tom Basden

Director Cassandra Fumi

Cast: James Cerché, Joey Lai, Cait Spiker & Jessica Stanley

Set & Costume Designer Dann William Barber

Design Associate Savanna Wegman

Costume Supervisor & Maker Alexandra Aldrich

Sound Designer Gabriel Bethune

Lighting Designer Spencer Herd

Stage Manager Luci Watts

Assistant Stage Managers Finn McLeish & Caspar Plum

Photographer Jack Dixon-Gunn

Produced by Spinning Plates Co.

Presented at fortyfivedownstairs

SYNOPSIS

Ivan is a jobbing actor who hasn’t gotten the recognition he feels he deserves. When his best friend Zack finally works up the courage to tell him that he thinks he should give up, everything changes in the blink of an eye as Ivan is swallowed by a crocodile at the local zoo. Somehow still alive inside the crocodile, Ivan finds himself an instant star, with the media and public flocking down to see him—as well as his ex-girlfriend, Anya, whom Zack is trying to find the right moment to propose to.

Now that Ivan is raking in the sponsorship money and interviews, how will Zack manage to convince him that he’s a terrible performer, and stop Anya from falling back in love now that he’s looking like a pretty tasty meal ticket?

Foiled by a number of characters who come and go from the zoo, our main trio must navigate their self interest and desperate desire to be loved against an increasingly absurd backdrop.

ON THE RUSSIAN SETTING

The below is a statement of intention our director, Cassandra Fumi, set before our rehearsal period began. Some of the choices mentioned may have changed throughout the rehearsal period.

The Russia of 1865, where The Crocodile is set, is very different to the Russia of today. The Crocodile is a play about economics, capitalism and a struggling performer who is eaten by a crocodile and finally gets the fame he craves. For our 2023 staging of the production, given world events, we have decided to relocate the play to a deliberately unspecified country in the 17th Century. The Tsar is just a leader and roubles are just currency. The liminality of this setting will enhance the themes of the work. It will also allow for an interpretation of the text and not be a comment on current events but rather stand as a piece of literature written by one of the great writers of his time, Dostoevsky.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

The world of The Crocodile is extreme. A man is eaten by a crocodile. He survives. In fact, he thrives. He can dance, sing, and even, eventually, pontificate, all from the gory comfort of the insides of that poor creature.

Fyodor Dostoevksy wrote and never finished the satirical short story from which Tom Basden’s play draws its inspiration. In Dostoevksy’s original, Ivan is a civil servant who finds the innards of the crocodile a perfect place to carry out his administrative duties. In Basden’s version, Ivan is an actor who finds the absurdity of his situation a perfect attraction for crowds from which he can draw that admiration he so craves. Dostoevksy’s Ivan was a cog in the bureaucratic machine, while Basden’s is a player in the attention economy. Both versions reflect the anxieties of the time in which they were written.

Nature is destroyed, ignored, and disregarded in this play. A crocodile captured, caged and teased lashes out only to become the hollowed out vessel for this pathetic subject of capital to carry out his empty ambitions. We struggle to consider an allegory more apt for making art on a dying planet. We watch on and laugh.

On stage there is no Crocodile but rather a magical box that transforms from bench to animal. The Crocodile is a metaphor for all the things that consume us. The animals are invisible, only sonic. The design is heightened, and heavily stylised high fashion that is stark against a white, boxed area that contains the performers. The overly stylised costumes have all been made from repurposed materials creating an eclectic, glorious fashion parade. The emphasis on aesthetics highlights the vanity of the world in which they exist.

The performance style takes inspiration from Brechtian theater, commedia dell'arte, and the genre of Farce. The Crocodile is a comedy that entertains an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable.

This work is an independent production that has been labored over and is filled with love. Mums paper macheing, big pots of soup, partners doing meal prep, and a sense of creating something together, for now from now.

Someone wise once said to me, as a director that "you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with." This team, both on and off stage, has brought so much joy, belly laughs and massive commitment to make this show happen.

Cassandra Fumi

CHARACTERS

Ivan is a middle class son of a senior civil servant and jobbing actor who isn’t getting the attention or accolades he feels he deserves. Writing and performing pieces of theatre and performance art, Ivan attempts to garner recognition and acclaim by confronting social and political issues as an apparent agitator. He works hard to maintain the appearance of the moral high ground in every situation, especially his art but the allure of fame and fortune can quickly lead to corruption.

Zack is Ivan’s college friend who works as a clerk at a law firm. He is also sensitive but it manifests in a gentle simplicity. Unlike the fiery Ivan, Zack tries to avoid rocking the boat and prefers to remain logical and keep everything on an even keel. He is dating Ivan’s long time ex girlfriend Anya and trying to find the right moment to pop an important question while managing the fallout from Ivan’s last failed performance.

Anya is light, positive and happy go lucky but also deeply insecure and cares what people think of her. Anya used to date Ivan and act alongside him in a variety of musical performances before eventually being worn down by the harsh realities and disappointments of pursuing life as a performer. She is now dating Ivan’s best friend Zack and has left her theatrical days behind in favour of a new startup business making cushions.

The night before the events of the play take place, Ivan stumbles upon a group of his close friends, including Zack and Anya planning a secret intervention with the goal of coaxing him away from the stage for good or ill… We meet our first three characters the morning after and the play then takes place throughout a single day during which we meet a further ten personalities as the action unfolds.

The fourth actor, as a swing, performs Mr Popov (the owner of the crocodile, who rents out a small section of the zoo), Zlobin (a police official), Sasha Ivkin (a reporter), Andrew Frampton (the owner of the zoo), Mr Poborsky (Ivan’s elderly fan), Dimitri (a journalist), a Waiter, a Protester, Baron Boris Bogolepov (a wealthy conservative) and Tsar Alexander II (referred to as The Leader of the country in our production).

THEMES

Capitalism

Mr Popov’s main concern is getting the money that is owed to him, at the expense of everything else constantly pursuing the money through repetition of the figures “seven” and “fourteen”.

Andrew Frampton seizes the opportunity to profit off Ivan’s situation by putting up banners and getting sponsorship. The welfare of the animals in his Zoo is clearly not his primary motivation.

Ivan is willing to sell out on his values for money and profits. Activism becomes corrupt.

Politicians

The Tsar’s speech at the end is reimagined as an amalgamation of Australian Prime Ministers (who did you spot?). The Tsar uses entertainment to distract from the political climate of the piece. Can you think of instances when our politicians have done this?

Consumerism & Greed

Both conceptually and physically. Ivan is literally consumed by the crocodile. He also enjoys a consumerist lifestyle; he is very pleased with his Hacking Jacket and gladly accepts free clothing from Petersham’s Tweed Jackets.

Ivan also requests Beluga Caviar, the most expensive kind of caviar available, because he believes this better suits his new high status.

Fame, Celebrity & Moral Corruption

Ivan and Anya are both chasing their fifteen minutes of fame and are willing to sell out in different ways to achieve this. Ivan will sell out his morals and values, willingly saying or doing whatever he thinks will keep the public interested, while Anya is willing to revisit her relationship with Ivan for the sake of sharing the spotlight with him.

Once Ivan’s profile begins to rise in Scene Three, he immediately begins requesting others fetch him cups of coffee; this is a stereotypical job that the lowest status person on set would do and shows Ivan’s willingness to exploit his new-found position to feel important.

When word of Ivan’s success begins to spread it encourages a spate of copy cat attempts to get famous by other who begin trying to climb inside animals. A horrific and careless notion that harms both people and animals. There is a disregard for the natural world and a willingness to cause damage for personal gain.

Relationships

The fickle nature of humans. Ivan is willing to sell out his morals to achieve his own objective: to be famous. Anya moves between her relationships with Ivan and Zack depending on their success.

The manipulation of others through money and fame.

Zack and Ivan’s friendship is tested as Ivan’s spikes and dips throughout the work. Should Zack be happy for him? How big a part does jealousy play in Zack’s motivations for getting Ivan to stop performing.

Animal Cruelty & Exploitation

The way that animals are treated in the play is deplorable and reminds us that often, it is the innocents who suffer in moments of chaos and conflict.

The stark lack of physical representation of animals in our production reflects the idea that the animals in the zoo are dying off slowly and painfully. By the end of the play, we see the insides of Ivan’s box as they represent the insides of the crocodile, now dead from his mistreatment of the animal.

Art

What is the importance of art in our society? Ivan laments a world that he perceives is devaluing art (zoos and carnivals overtaking theatre in terms of popularity) which can draw parallels to a modern context where film and narrative television struggle to compete against reality shows and popular music is dictated by Tiktok trends.

Art has long been a commodity but it have seen its value ebb and flow culturally. Covid lockdowns saw people flock to their televisions and other art forms yet artists and gig economy workers were often overlooked when assistance was being administered. Artists are often the first to volunteer for a charity cause but the last to be paid.

POP CULTURE REFERENCE POINTS

During our rehearsal period, the following pop culture references were used as stimulus materials for the cast and creative team.

• Seinfeld - with a cast of four actors, we played with who each of us represented in the Seinfeld quartet. The Seinfeld four are famously self-centred and get their ultimate comeuppance at the end of the television series; there is an absurdity and comedy that we felt was to be found in Tom Basden’s text.

• The Mighty Boosh - the zoo setting and the dynamic between the main characters is similar to that of Zack and Ivan. The simplistic and non-naturalistic props and costume pieces used to denote characters was also played with during rehearsals.

• The Great (TV series) is a great example of a story in a historical setting juxtaposed with contemporary language and colloquialisms. Did you know that this show is actually based on a play by Australian playwright Tony McNamara? Tony also co-wrote The Favourite, another great example of this device being used.

• The Lobster - both The Favourite and The Lobster are directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, whose filmed offer stylistic inspiration for this production and its actors during rehearsals. The absurdity of the way animals are incorporated into the world of The Lobster is similar to The Crocodile.

• The Kardashians - particularly Kylie Jenner as a reference point for the damage celebrity obsession can cause (eg. The “Kylie Jenner Lips Challenge” may be a good modern point of comparison for the copycats who climb into animals at the end of the play.

• Bella Hadid and the Coperni spray on dress - this may be compared to the bodysuits that Ivan and Anya are revealed to be wearing later in the play, and Anya may be seen mimicking Bella Hadid’s stylised movements when she is being transformed at the end of the play so that she may join Ivan inside the crocodile.

• Prime Minister & Presidential public speeches & apologies - these were loosely used to inspire some of Ivan’s speeches to the crowds, as well as the Tsar’s speech at the end.

The Crocodile, a short story by Dostoevsky, may be seen as a short film on YouTube by clicking here. This film was used as a reference point for the team when looking at the theatrical styles, satire and absurdity—particularly Anya and Zack’s reactions to Ivan being eaten by the croc.

THEATRICAL STYLES

Epic Theatre - Bertolt Brecht

“Why be a man when you can be a success?”

- Bertolt Brecht

Verfremdungseffekt

Also known as the “estrangement effect” or the “alienation effect”, was popularised, though not invented by Brecht, and is one of the most defining characteristics of epic theatre. In The Crocodile, Verfremdungseffekt is achieved by:

One Actor Playing Multiple Characters

The Swing actor plays ten different roles and often transforms between them in full view of the audience.

Rearranging Set & Costume On-Stage

The crocodile’s pit, represented by a box, is moved and manipulated in full view of the audience; none of the “tricks” of theatre are hidden. You may see Ivan leave the box during these moves, shattering the illusion of him being inside the crocodile, and reminding the audience that they are watching a play. Anya (Jessica Stanley) has several costume changes that happen on-stage also.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

The Swing actor often breaks the fourth wall to directly address the audience. At times, other characters also become aware of the audience and speak to them. This is included in the script in Scene Five, when Zack demands the audience should stop watching, and may be seen during earlier scenes when all four characters become aware of the audience watching them on different occasions, and therefore aware that they are in a play.

Historicisation

This is used to draw connections between a historical event and a current event. The deliberate exclusion of Russian references in this production of The Crocodile, based on a story by a famous Russian writer, may remind audiences of what is going on in Russia and Europe today. The Tsar is instead depicted as The Leader, and is reminiscent of Australian prime ministers to land the work in our current political climate.

Music & Song

Brecht was heavily influenced by musicals and fairground performers, using comedy, music and song to distance his audience from the action and prevent catharsis.

Narration

The Swing actor announces the scenes and locations at the beginning of each scene to remind the audience of story structure.

Gestus

A physical movement that combines gesture and social meaning. This may be seen in the production when Ivan is swallowed by the crocodile, and again in the character of the leader.

Lighting Equipment on Stage

At certain points, you may see lighting equipment on the stage to remind the audience that what they are watching is not reality. A light is pulled out of the Crocodile box to reveal that there is no crocodile inside

Action

When Ivan is swallowed by the crocodile, this is performed in a very non-naturalistically way with a Chomp bar being eaten on stage. There is no attempt to make the attack a realistic event.

Theatre of the Absurd - Samuel Beckett

“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness … it's the most comical thing in the world”

- Nell (Endgame by Samuel Beckett)

Theatre of the Absurd developed after World War II and does not focus on realistic or logical circumstances or traditional character development. Rather, the characters are “trapped” in an illogical world ruled by incomprehensibility and an inability to form meaningful human connections.

Existentialism

There is a distinct breakdown of communication between Zack, Ivan and Anya.

Set & Place

The structure of the performance space as a round or cyclical shape that the actors are stuck in for eternity. The backstage area becomes more visible as the play goes on, and acts as a void or limbo that the actors cannot escape when they leave the stage.

Anti-Character

Characters are created with grotesque and curious personalities. This is particularly reflected in the costumes and make up in The Crocodile.

Crisis & Cruelty of Human Beings

Theatre of the Absurd often explores the crisis and cruelty of human beings, a response to the time that it was created, post WWII. Economy and technology developed quickly at this time and it was believed that to survive people must keep in step with such things. We witness this in Ivan, who is willing to jump on board with whatever trend is popular in the moment to maintain his popularity. We also witness the cruelty displayed by Zack, Anya and Ivan as they pursue their personal interests with little regard for one another’s feelings.

Poor Theatre - Jerzy Grotowski

“Yes, the poor theatre, the bare theatre, after all that which is not theatre itself. You can say that, what is the rest? There remains only the living man, the living man, that is the actor, who can transform himself for the others, the witnesses, and who can find a sort of relationship with these others, with the spectators. In the end all that is being done now, is the naked man, this actor…the total theatre through the total actor.”

- Jerzy Grotowski

Poor Theatre aims to get rid of the excess of theatre and eliminate the divide between actor and audience to create a union between them instead. Grotowski believed that theatre could never fully replicate film and television, and so should instead be extremely bare, highlighting the craft and skill of the actor. While many elements of this production do not fall into the style of Poor Theatre, there are some influential elements.

Recontextualisation

Grotowski would often experiment with reinterpreting classic works to make them relevant for a contemporary audience. Tom Basden has done the same with Dostoevsky’s short story.

Relationship Between Participant & Spectator

Grotowski aimed to eliminate the division between the actor and the audience. Actors perform with spectators on more than one side to help achieve this. In The Crocodile, the actors break the fourth wall and endow the audience as the animals in the zoo, the cheering fans, and the angry mob to help bring them into the story.

Minimal Set & Props

The space is stark and mostly bare, made of cardboard and paper. The crocodile is represented by a simple wooden box, so as not to attempt to recreate film and television.

Transformation of Object

After transformation, objects would typically become symbolic or of great significance. The box is used in a variety of ways; as a bench at the zoo, the crocodile’s enclosure, then the crocodile itself.

PERFORMANCE STYLES

The performance styles in The Crocodile are largely stylised and non-naturalistic, with elements of clowning, melodrama and farce.

Non-Naturalism

Performance style is at times very presentational, playing a conversation out to the fourth wall instead of directly addressing one another. When Ivan is eaten by the crocodile, this is played against the heightened stakes of its reality and reflects how desensitised people have become in reaction to the senseless violence we are subjected to through the media and social media, as well as highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

Melodrama

Heightened gesture and movement to highlight the absurdity of the situations the characters find themselves in, the emptiness and facades of their inter-relationships, and the dramatic nature of the characters.

Farce

When Anya spots the crocodile for the first time the characters engage in a farcical style run and chase, reminiscent of Benny Hill or Scooby Doo. The stage manager is even seen at a point, reminding the audience that they are watching a play and heightening the comedy.

Stylised Gesture & Movement

There are moments of tableau and stylised movement; Zack becomes the crocodile as Popov describes how difficult it is to transport one, and reflecting Zack’s submissive nature. Clowning training was used in the creation of the different roles portrayed by the Swing.

Commedia Dell’Arte

Clowning and Commedia dell’arte were used in particular to find the ten swing characters. The fixed social types and stock characters, or exaggerated “real characters”, can be seen throughout the play - tropes such as the foolish old man, the devious servant, the wealthy old man. To further distinguish between the characters, actors took them to the extremes of old men, then brought it back down to settle the characters in different ages.

Cait Spiker worked with clowning teacher Fabio Motta to find the ten different characters for the Swing role.

Status

Zack, having lower status, spends the most time on the floor or down on all fours. The other actors sometimes physically sit or stand on top of him to denote his social status within their friendship circle.

Ivan’s status rises throughout the play, reflected through the continuing transformation of the box he is inside. He becomes “absolutely huge” inside of it and is able to peep his head out the top, making him seem larger than life.

Gaze

The characters will at times be having a conversation with each other but be directing their gaze straight out to the audience to enhance the non-naturalism of the play and the disconnect between the characters and their objectives.

Voice & Accents

A microphone is used while Ivan is inside the box to acknowledge that he is in some “otherly” place. Voice distortion at times aids in the foreboding and didactic nature of the monologue Ivan tells about the fictional zoo.

The Swing plays with different pitches, tones, musicality and accents to differentiate between the ten characters they play.

Anya begins to sing and add musicality to her lines as the play goes on to denote the reawakening of her passion and love of performing. Also highlights her shared connection with Ivan.

STAGECRAFT ELEMENTS

Set

The play is performed on a thrust stage, meaning facing in two directions, to mimic the feeling of the audience looking in on an enclosure in the zoo. The backstage area may be seen at times, suggesting that the actors are “trapped” in the play and cannot escape.

Props

Minimal props are used to denote the bleakness and decaying nature of the world and the corruption of the characters. No lifelike animals are seen, to remind the audience of the cruel treatment of animals by the characters we both see and hear about throughout the play. We only see a crocodile’s skull and a papier maché dog. It is as if the characters are backstage at a museum; only cutouts and replicas of animal shapes may be hinted towards, rather than anything living, breathing, or colourful.

Transformation of Object is used with The Box which begins as a bench at the zoo. Once the crocodile is created and endowed by Popov, it opens up and becomes the crocodile’s pit. Once Ivan is swallowed by the crocodile the box becomes the crocodile. Its doors can open to aid in these transformations. When the inside of the box is revealed it’s represented as the inside of the crocodile’s stomach. This allows the audience to use their imaginations and the text to envision the grotesqueness of Ivan’s actions inside the crocodile rather than acting it out onstage.

Costume

A warped mix of classical and contemporary attire made from found objects that have been repurposed into garments that are representational of a time and place. A punk approximation and suggestion that is both familiar and alien. Influences of German expressionism are also apparent; Ivan and Anya’s body suits are painted with simplified shapes and gestural marks to recreate their naked bodies, rather than an attempt at replication reality.

Sound

Sound and music are used throughout the play to enhance the storytelling and bring the zoo to life through an audial rather than visual medium. Rather than seeing animals, we hear them, and the zoo is brought to life through the audience’s imaginations rather than mimicked on stage.

Some characters, particularly for the Swing role, have their own Theme Music to help differentiate them from one another.

Popular music is employed to further highlight the strange world that spans time and place by bring electronic music and TikTok-like themes to an inappropriate setting.

Lighting

Stark whites show a bright monochromatic world that begins to grow sicker as green tones are introduced that gradually overpower the space. Greed, jealously and commercialism win. It is not a happy ending. A stage light falls at the end of the play, removing the illusion of reality and reminding the audience that they are watching a play in a theatre, and that the world they are witnessing is crumbling and corrupt. A reptile light hangs from the stage to simply represent the reptile house that the characters may be meeting in. Green lighting is used to create the crocodile inside its crate.

KEY QUOTES

Scene One

“I’m not angry with you, Zack, I’m angry in general. I’m an artist. That’s my job.” - Iva

“I’m in competition with everything, man! And whether I like it or not, and I don’t, this is the future of showbiz” - Ivan

“Giving up is also, sometimes, very brave.” - Zack

“I’m not buoyant, like you. I’m complicated. And you’re more, not simple but…simpler” - Ivan

“I’m not giving up, Zack! I need to perform! Regardless of what’s best for me, I just must.” - Ivan

“I have a duty though! To the people…and to the truth. And to the justice. To expose what’s really going on in this country.” - Ivan

“A crocodile is a naturally occurring thing, you can’t own it. Or charge for it. That’s like charging people to look at…the moon.” - Ivan

“I know more than anyone that it’s a hard life to give up, Ivan. Before I found cushions I never thought I could love anything else” - Anya

“I am just a lot happier now, Ivan, look at me, and I would love you to find something you could get in to…” - Anya

“These zoos are run by total sharks, and to be clear, I do mean people. Saving space, cutting corners, bollocks to how bored the beasts are.” - Ivan

“That’s my livelihood your mate’s just got in, and I’m not going to start cutting it up for his sake. Now. Seven roubles times three is twenty-one.” - Mr Popov

“Ivan’s been eaten alive, this is a huge story, Zack” - Anya

Scene Two

“Okay, but, we have to do something.”

“Oh completely! Completely agree. The problem, of course, being that the crocodile is a business asset.” - Ivan & Zlobin

Scene Three

“I actually used to go out with him.” - Anya

“It doesn’t matter what you do, Ivan, just carry on drinking and shitting in there and they’ll still be writing about it.” - Zack

“I know the songs are stupid, Zack, I know that! They’re meant to be stupid, so they’re actually therefore clever.” - Ivan

“I have to stay in here, mate. For the art. For the message. This crocodile is my way to get that out. It’s much bigger than me. In more ways than one.” - Ivan

“Being eaten by a crocodile could be the best thing that ever happened to my career, Zack, and I honestly never thought I’d say that.” - Ivan

“I am here not just to entertain you, but to help you. To save you.” - Ivan

Scene Four

“He distrusts any ideas that aren’t his and only reads stuff he already thinks.” - Zack

“It’s not his job to know anything” - Anya

“It’s not about doing good, it’s about looking good.” - Zack

“You think these artists and students drinking coffee, banging on about Marx and revolution, are ever actually going to do anything? They’re fakes. Full of fake fury. They’re just afraid of actually working for a living.” - Zack

“Yeah, that’s the problem. These idiots who think they’re right all the time. Religion’s got it upside down, it’s not the sinners you have to worry about, they’re not the dangerous ones, it’s the bloody righteous. The ones who’d rather kill you than admit they were wrong” - Zack

“What do you want him to do then? Become a clerk? Would that help? More clerks?” - Anya

“You’re not a blob, you’re just what actors would call a civilian. Unlike Ivan, and, to a certain extent unlike myself, you don’t have a desire for attention. Or talent. And I’m not being horrible, that’s just the way it is. You’re a classic clerk. You’re not a doer, you’re a writer-downer of what other people do. Ivan’s different. He has a calling.” - Anya

“And now he happens to have got in a crocodile and everyone’s talking about him, you invent this whole new narrative about him actually being good all along to make sense of something totally random.” - Zack

“You don’t like them, you just like that I’m doing that and…yours and…a nobody…” - Anya

Scene Five

“I’m an actor! I’m all about freedom and stuff.” - Ivan

“They’re so bloody offended.”

“Well, can they stop being offended?”

“I think…they don’t want to-”

“Go and tell them to stop being offended.” - Mr Popov & Ivan

“I love Russia, I just hate the Tsar!”

“That’s the same thing, you moron.” - Ivan & Mr Frampton

“I know I’m in a crocodile, mate! I’m more aware of that than anyone. And being in this crocodile is the only way I’m going to cobble together some kind of nest egg.” - Ivan

“Everything happens for a reason, Zack. Everything. I believe that.”

“Yeah, and I”m sure most people who’ve randomly become famous for not really doing anything do too. But there’s no meaning or fate here, Ivan. You’re just…in a crocodile and not dead.” - Ivan and Zack

“And while there’s breath in my gob and blood in my bod, I’m going to plough on. Give the people a show…whether they like it or not” - Ivan

“It’s an absolute zoo and a half out there! There’s a boy halfway in an elk, a dead girl in a hippo, one guy’s got his leg in a penguin” - Mr Popov

“Leave the placards outside! Placards! That thing you’re holding, love. It’s called a placard, yes!” - Mr Popov

“Everything that exists is great and everything that doesn’t probably shouldn’t.” - Ivan

“You’re holding me back, Zack, that’s what you’ve always done…I can’t be with someone with your negativity, Zack, and height, I can’t.” - Anya

“Let no one say that the Tsar does not take an interest in the popular cultural phenomena of the age. I am, like you, a huge supporter of whatever it is that is going on here that you all like so much.” - Tsar Alexander II

What key quotes have we missed that resonate with you?

DISCUSSION TOPICS

The Crocodile suggests that “we must suffer for our art”. Discuss.

Who did you most empathise with in the play and why?

Very few props are used in The Crocodile. Why do you think the ones that were included were chosen, and others disregarded?

How did the Swing (Cait Spiker) use acting technique (body, gesture, movement, voice) to differentiate between her roles?

How was stagecraft used to make you feel sympathy for, or add to your dislike of, a character?

What do you think the significance of Anya’s cushions is?

Which of the Swing’s characters was how you expected them to be, or subverted your expectations?

How did the costumes and make up add to, or detract from, the action? Discuss.

What did the characters’ costumes tell you about their characters?

Who is the crocodile in The Crocodile? Ivan? Zack? The Swing? The audience?

(Spoilers!) Why do you think the light fell at the end of the play

Why do you think the Crocodile was imagined as a box in the production?

CLASS ACTIVITIES

What other ways might you create the crocodile in the show without an actual prop crocodile onstage? Divide into groups and choose a section from Scene One or Three with your own staging ideas for creating the crocodile

How else might you create the moment that the crocodile swallows Ivan on stage?

How might you use performance styles to perform Ivan’s monologue from the end of Scene Three? As a Greek chorus? Using multimedia? Song?

REFERENCE IMAGES

Set & Costume Inspiration

Ersan Mondtag provided inspiration for the set & costume design. See more of their work here.